844 research outputs found
Rapture rhetoric: prophetic epistemology of the Left Behind subculture
This thesis provides a rhetorical analysis of prophetic texts, non-fiction premillennialist dispensational studies, the fictional series, Left Behind and interviews with series’ readers. This thesis argues that prophetic rhetoric constitutes an epistemological position whereby Rapture believers create knowledge, cast knowledge as good or evil and finally act as gatekeepers to determine what can and should be known. Rapture subculture is composed of both a hard core and a set of narrative believers, those who have acquired the nomenclature, but perhaps not the dogmatic belief in a Rapture, Tribulation, Armageddon, and Millennium schema. The process of turning narrative believers into hard core believers relies on the use of a range of topoi, appeals to authority, evil and time. Rapture rhetoric, aimed at bolstering the beliefs of the hard core and cultivating the beliefs of those still undecided, relies on the process of transfer to gain acceptance for one claim based on acceptance of another and then relies on narrative plasticity to enlarge the basis for those accepted claims. These arguments are exchanged for stories in the fictional Left Behind series, whereby the characters, institutions and knowledge of the end-times becomes encapsulated in an easy-to-read and simple-to-relate tale that codes knowledge as either good knowledge revealed from God or evil knowledge acquired through human understanding. These narratives and arguments both get used among prophetic believers to explain their lives and their world, internally and externally to the prophetic subculture, in order to convince more narrative believers of the truth of their claims. Prophetic communities develop knowledge products, cultural entailments and cultural manifestations of prophetic belief to serve as symbols of the end-times narrative. Rapture subculture, based on prophetic beliefs, is not monolithic; however, this thesis is able to draw some broad generalizations about the prophetic community and the rhetoric they use to explain their claims within their ranks and to the outside world
Phosphorylation by the stress-activated MAPK Slt2 down-regulates the yeast TOR complex 2
Saccharomyces cerevisiae target of rapamycin (TOR) complex 2 (TORC2) is an
essential regulator of plasma membrane lipid and protein homeostasis. How TORC2
activity is modulated in response to changes in the status of the cell envelope
is unclear. Here we document that TORC2 subunit Avo2 is a direct target of
Slt2, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) of the cell wall integrity
pathway. Activation of Slt2 by overexpression of a constitutively active allele
of an upstream Slt2 activator (Pkc1) or by auxin-induced degradation of a
negative Slt2 regulator (Sln1) caused hyperphosphorylation of Avo2 at its MAPK
phosphoacceptor sites in a Slt2-dependent manner and diminished TORC2-mediated
phosphorylation of its major downstream effector, protein kinase Ypk1. Deletion
of Avo2 or expression of a phosphomimetic Avo2 allele rendered cells sensitive
to two stresses (myriocin treatment and elevated exogenous acetic acid) that
the cell requires Ypk1 activation by TORC2 to survive. Thus, Avo2 is necessary
for optimal TORC2 activity, and Slt2-mediated phosphorylation of Avo2
down-regulates TORC2 signaling. Compared with wild-type Avo2, phosphomimetic
Avo2 shows significant displacement from the plasma membrane, suggesting that
Slt2 inhibits TORC2 by promoting Avo2 dissociation. Our findings are the first
demonstration that TORC2 function is regulated by MAPK-mediated
phosphorylation.Comment: This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Predoctoral Traineeship GM07232 and a University of California at Berkeley
MacArthur and Lakhan-Pal Graduate Fellowship to K.L.L., Erwin Schroedinger
Fellowship J3787-B21 from the Austrian Science Fund to AE-A, Marie
Sklodowska-Curie Action H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 InsiliCardio, GA 75083 to CMA, and
NIH R01 research grant GM21841 to J
Conjoint Analysis of Breaded Catfish Nuggets: Consumer Preferences for Price, Product Color, Cooking Method and Country of Origin
A new product, marinated, breaded catfish nuggets, was developed. This conjoint study was designed to evaluate consumers’ preferences for certain attributes of the nuggets. An in-store survey was conducted to collect data. The data collected will be used to determine the market potential for the catfish nuggets.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
2009 Alaska Health Workforce Vacancy Study
Alaska continues to experience health professional shortages. The state has long had a deficient
“supply side” characterized by insufficient numbers of key health workers whose recruitment,
retention, and training have been impeded by Alaska’s remoteness, harsh climate, rural isolation,
low population density, and scarce training resources. Alaska is the only state without a
pharmacy school and lacks its own dental and physical therapy schools as well.
Health professional shortages can be decreased through the start of new training programs, the
expansion of existing programs, and the improvement of the effectiveness of recruitment and
retention efforts. However, strategic planning and the execution of such programs require valid
and accurate data. To this end, stakeholders such as the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
(AMHTA) and Alaskan's For Access to Health Care (ACCESS), along with schools and
departments within the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), funded the Alaska Center for
Rural Health-Alaska’s AHEC (ACRH) and the Institute of Social and Economic Research
(ISER) to conduct a comprehensive health workforce study during winter and spring of 2009.
This report highlights employers’ needs for employees to fill budgeted positions. This is different
from a needs assessment that would take into account population demographics and disease
incidence and prevalence.
This health workforce study is an assessment of health manpower shortage based on budgeted
staff positions and their vacancies in organizations throughout the state. Respondents included
part-time positions, which resulted in our counting full-time equivalent (FTE) rather than
individuals (“bodies”). In situations where a position was divided among more than one
occupation (e.g., Dental Assistant and Billing Clerk), we asked the respondent to count the
position under which they considered the position’s “primary occupation.”
This was a point-in-time cross-sectional study. Recently filled vacancies or imminent vacancies
were not counted. Positions filled by relief/temporary/locum/contract health workers were
counted as vacancies only if these workers were temporarily filling a currently vacant, budgeted
position. Due to budget and time constraints, we were not able to conduct a trend analysis that is
a comparison of this study’s findings and the prior 2007 study.
The key questions this study sought to answer were (1) How many budgeted positions, either
full- or part-time, existed in organizations providing health services in Alaska? (2) How many of
these budgeted positions were currently vacant? (3) What was the vacancy rate? (4) How many
of the organizations that employ these occupations hired new graduates of training programs? (5)
How many of the currently vacant budgeted positions (#2) could be filled by new graduates of
training programs? (6) What were the mean and maximum length of time, expressed in months,
that the vacancies have existed? (7) What were the principal, underlying causes of vacancies?
The study was designed in consultation with an advisory group that included AMHTA,
ACCESS, and UAA. The study targeted 93 health occupations. The unit of analysis was the
employment site by organization type, which allowed for the allocation of positions and
vacancies by geographic region. For each employer, we identified the staff person most knowledgeable about hiring and vacancies. In large organizations this meant that one employer
might provide information about multiple sites and organization types; smaller employers were
responsible for only a single site.Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.
Alaskan's for Access to Health Care.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Tanana Valley campus Telemedicine program.
University of Alaska Anchorage, Community and Technical College.
University of Alaska Anchorage, School of Nursing.Acknowledgements / Executive Summary / Table of Contents / Problem and Rationale / Methodology / Limitations of Study / Findings / Appendix A. List of Health Occupations / Appendix B. Health Workforce Surveys / Appendix C. Cover Letter Accompanying Survey Forms / Appendix D. Confidence Intervals for Positions, Vacancies, Number of Vacancies Filled with New Graduates, and Length of Longest Vacancy in Months / Appendix E. Tables of Samples and Estimates of Positions, Vacancies, Vacancy Rates, Number of Vacancies Filled with New Graduates, Mean and Maximum Length of Longest Vacancy in Months / Appendix F. Tables of Occupations Sorted By Estimates of Positions, Vacancies, Vacancy Rates, Number of Vacancies Filled with New Graduates, Mean and Maximum Length of Longest Vacancy in Month
Research & Scholarly Communication 2021-22 Report on Publishing Services
This report highlights the scope and impact of Western Libraries’ publishing services as undertaken by members of the Research & Scholarly Communication Team (RSC) for the period May 1, 2021 - April 30, 2022, in the areas of: Scholarship@Western repository services, journal publishing services, support for open educational resources (OER), and open data publishing
Transcriptomic analysis of differential host gene expression upon uptake of symbionts: a case study with Symbiodinium and the major bioeroding sponge Cliona varians
Background: We have a limited understanding of genomic interactions that occur among partners for many symbioses. One of the most important symbioses in tropical reef habitats involves Symbiodinium. Most work examining Symbiodinium-host interactions involves cnidarian partners. To fully and broadly understand the conditions that permit Symbiodinium to procure intracellular residency, we must explore hosts from different taxa to help uncover universal cellular and genetic strategies for invading and persisting in host cells. Here, we present data from gene expression analyses involving the bioeroding sponge Cliona varians that harbors Clade G Symbiodinium. Results: Patterns of differential gene expression from distinct symbiont states (“normal”, “reinfected”, and “aposymbiotic”) of the sponge host are presented based on two comparative approaches (transcriptome sequencing and suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH)). Transcriptomic profiles were different when reinfected tissue was compared to normal and aposymbiotic tissue. We characterized a set of 40 genes drawn from a pool of differentially expressed genes in “reinfected” tissue compared to “aposymbiotic” tissue via SSH. As proof of concept, we determined whether some of the differentially expressed genes identified above could be monitored in sponges grown under ecologically realistic field conditions. We allowed aposymbiotic sponge tissue to become re-populated by natural pools of Symbiodinium in shallow water flats in the Florida Keys, and we analyzed gene expression profiles for two genes found to be increased in expression in “reinfected” tissue in both the transcriptome and via SSH. These experiments highlighted the experimental tractability of C. varians to explore with precision the genetic events that occur upon establishment of the symbiosis. We briefly discuss lab- and field-based experimental approaches that promise to offer insights into the co-opted genetic networks that may modulate uptake and regulation of Symbiondinium populations in hospite. Conclusions: This work provides a sponge transcriptome, and a database of putative genes and genetic pathways that may be involved in Symbiodinium interactions. The relative patterns of gene expression observed in these experiments will need to be evaluated on a gene-by-gene basis in controlled and natural re-infection experiments. We argue that sponges offer particularly useful characteristics for discerning essential dimensions of the Symbiodinium niche. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-376) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users
Teacher Quality and Quality Teaching: Examining the Relationship of a Teacher Assessment to Practice
Embarking as Captain of the Ship for the Curriculum Committee
This commentary examines the curriculum chair’s responsibilities and discusses considerations when assuming this role, using a captain of the ship metaphor. From knowing the crew to managing a diverse set of responsibilities, the path to becoming an effective chair is challenging and each captain’s stripe must be earned. Advice is provided to assist with understanding the curriculum and governance processes, as well as the chair’s various roles and professional development. The need for both leadership and management is also emphasized
- …